“kapag babae ka, kahit ibinigay mo na ang lahat sa anak mo, pati puso’t kaluluwa mo, di pa rin sapat na tawagin kang mabuting ina. sana pwede nating sabihing, tama na. hanggang diyan na lang pagiging nanay ko.”
26 years ago, ANAK was released in cinemas.
Walt Disney Animation has reanimated key musical sequences from three films into American Sign Language (ASL) versions:
• “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” — Encanto
• “Beyond” — Moana
• “The Next Right Thing” — Frozen 2
Releasing April 27 on Disney+.
I get what you mean, but girls like that exist in K-pop.😅
People who explore more usually discover groups with really strong vocals that often go unnoticed.
To the world, she is a legend. To me, she is the woman who outran my entire crew up a hill in the Tarlac heat. I call her Ms. H. Even after months of working together and traveling for the film, I could never quite shed that sense of reverence.
One afternoon we were racing to catch the golden hour and needed a shot on top of a distant hill. I asked if she was game. Without hesitation, she started running. We all panicked and ran after her, afraid she might trip. She reached the top. We got the shot.
As breathtaking as the Tarlac landscape was, the real soul of the film lives in Ms. H’s eyes. To say her eyes are cinema is no exaggeration. I’ve been directing for decades and have seen all kinds of performances, from the “TV Patrol” style to the “as-is-where-is” method. But Hilda Koronel is from another planet. Some actors perform a role. Others become a reason the role will be remembered. Without question she belongs to the second kind. Her gaze is unflinching. It stares back at you like a mirror until you see your own rage reflected in it.
In Tallinn, where the film had its world premiere, we had moments of pure joy. It was freezing, so we took shots of cherry liquor in a bar before walking to the Christmas village. By the time we reached the square we were pleasantly tipsy, and Ms. H began reading every Estonian sign out loud like a jeepney barker calling out routes. I laughed the entire walk.
But in those quiet moments in Tallinn, she also shared stories about the battles she had fought in her own life. What she’s been through is a whole movie in itself. Perhaps even two. Like Sisa, she too has carried too much. Enough to know what it means to be pushed to the edge. But she is still standing.
Working with her hasn’t just inspired my filmmaking. It has changed the way I think about what it means to endure. She reminded me that the most powerful thing you can do in this industry, and in life, is remain whole, even when you’ve given everything away to your art.
In a few days she flies back to the quiet life she built for herself. But her Sisa stays with us. And if you sit in a cinema and watch her eyes, you might understand why.
#JerryYan and #VicChou at Chin Pao San cemetery for #BarbieHsu's memorial statue unveiling ceremony today.
Dao Ming Si and Hua Ze Lei are off to see their Shan Cai 🤍